


Preceptor

by dragonshost



Series: Thorns of the Past [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, a reworking of Mirajane's past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-01-04 15:13:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12171417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonshost/pseuds/dragonshost
Summary: Mirajane well remembers the man that taught her everything she knows about controlling her inner demons.





	1. Chapter 1

_**Preceptor: an instructor, teacher, tutor.** _

"So, Ms. Strauss." The reporter scribbled away in her notepad, at the end of her questions for Fairy Tail's S-Class mage. Ever since the return of her power, interviews with the demon-class Take Over mage were highly sought after. As such, there had been a great number of topics discussing during the interview thus far. But there was one question remaining.

"The readers of Sorcerer Weekly are all curious – what is your ideal guy?"

"I-Ideal guy?" the model stuttered. Though she had been asked this question on a number of other interviews, she had always managed to avoid or redirect the conversation. This time, however, memories flowed through her head, unbidden. Like as not, it was probably due to the reemergence of the demon souls trapped within the cage of her own.

"Yes. The editors have received a great number of letters inquiring on this topic!"

Mirajane did not doubt the truth of the reporter's statement. "Oh."

"So? Do you have a type?" the woman pressed, sensing a story.

"Well, well, well."

"Is there something the matter, Ms. Strauss?"

The Take Over mage blinked, startled out of her thoughts. How long had she just spaced out for? To cover up her inattentiveness, she gave the reporter a brilliant smile. "Mirajane, please! Ms. Strauss is way too formal."

"Ms. Strauss, is it. I see."

"Mirajane, then," she agreed.

"I'm sorry, but could you repeat the question?"

"Certainly – what is your ideal man?" Pen poised to take notes, the journalist waited expectantly for Mirajane's answer.

"What a curious magic you have."

"Um… I'm afraid I don't really have a specific…" Mirajane began, not especially comfortable with answering the question. Then she hesitated. Did it really matter if she kept it to herself? It was… so long ago, anyway. "Wait, do first crushes count?"

"Of course they do!" Nodding enthusiastically, the reporter urged her on. "Please… what sort of person were they?"

"Ms. Strauss. You can do far better than that. Are you even putting for the effort? Try again."

"Hmm…" Mirajane tapped her chin with a long, pale finger. Her cerulean eyes were unfocused, her thoughts far away from the park in which the interview was being held. "I think he was the type to look down his nose at others, unless they were able to prove themselves in his eyes. He wore his long, dark hair in a high ponytail. Red eyes. He smirked a lot. I don't really recall his face clearly beyond that, though."

"Really? What was it about him that attracted you to him?"

"Focus, Ms. Strauss. You are capable of far greater power than you are bringing forth at this moment. Dig deeper within your magical container, and let it flow over you."

She giggled. "I don't think attraction is quite the right word!"

"How do you mean?"

"I was rather young, and it was just a crush. The kind little children get sometimes, you know? When they look up to an older person."

The reporter wrote this down. "Really? How old were you? What was the age difference like?"

"How old am I? Very. And you are very young. Your point?"

"I asked him once, but he never gave me a straight answer. He couldn't have been older than his twenties, though?" Mirajane reasoned, based upon her dim recollection of the man. "I was about… ten or so at the time, I think."

"Pardon me for saying so…" Tentatively, the journalist met Mirajane's gaze. "But it strikes me as somewhat odd that a man of that age would want to be around someone of yours."

"Why? Because I find your magic amusing."

Mirajane shook her head, dismissing the other woman's words. "I think you're misunderstanding. This was relatively soon after I had absorbed a demon's soul for the first time. I struggled for a long time, trying to control it within me. He saw, and understood what I was going through."

"He was a mage?"

"I travel. That's all you need to know."

He had never outright stated as such, so all she had to go on was personal conjecture, but Mirajane answered, "A traveling mage, yes. He taught me how to control my demon, and helped to train me in my magic. I assure you that he was nothing but a perfect gentleman, if brusque at times." That was putting it mildly, if she were to be perfectly honest with herself. He could be downright rude and caustic when the mood struck him.

"Oh, so you had a crush on your teacher, then?" the reporter pointed out the stereotype.

This made Mirajane laugh. "I guess I did, didn't I?"

Continuing, the journalist asked, "Did he have any hobbies?"

"You are to never touch this book. It is dangerous, and it was entrusted into my safekeeping."

"He liked to read," the She-Devil replied vaguely.

"Did he ever give you good advice?"

"Stay vigilant always, Ms. Strauss. The demons will always seek to devour you from the inside. And if your control should slip, even for a moment… you shall be lost."

What sort of question was that? Mirajane had to wonder.

"Too much to count! Seriously, the only reason I am as powerful as I am today is because he took the time to teach me," she found herself confessing. It was… oddly freeing to talk about this for the first time. "I then took his lessons, and taught my siblings how to properly control their own Take Overs."

"It sounds like you owe him a lot," observed the reporter.

"Ms. Strauss. You will hurt your family if you continue as you are. And yourself as well."

"More than you realize."

"Pay me back? What utter nonsense. I did not do this for you, from the beginning. If you wish to repay my selfish actions, you are the fool."

With a nod, the woman smiled at Mirajane. "Do you hope to see him again, someday?"

"Then someday become an opponent worthy of my time."

"Of course! I need to properly thank him!" she replied.

"I only have one last question for you." After Mirajane nodded for her to continue, the journalist asked, "Do you happen to remember his name at all?"

She openly scoffed at this. "Of course I do!"

"Never forget it, little demon."

"Can you share with us what it was? Maybe someone knows him, and could give him word that you're doing alright."

Shaking her head, Mirajane rejected the idea. "Nope! If he sees this interview, he'll know. If he doesn't… it won't matter."

The reporter blinked, curious. "Why do you say that?"

"I know I'll see him again someday!" Her words were firm, with no room for doubt.

"How can you be so certain of that?"

I am the King of the Underworld."

Mirajane pressed a finger to her lips and grinned, winking mischievously. "It's a secret!"

"You may call me Mard Geer."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Many Years Ago...** _

"Welcome back, Underworld King."

The smooth tones of Sayla's voice drew Mard Geer's attention to the demon, standing in the dim light of the corridor leading out of his throne room. "Yes," he replied, turning to face her.

She bowed her horned head in deference. "How was your journey?"

"Irritating," he stated without inflection of any kind. "Humans are even more of a nuisance than they were four centuries ago, if that's even possible. Though I suppose you wouldn't know."

"Yes - I was created merely a single century ago. I must agree with your assessment, however. Humans truly are pests. I look forward to the day we eradicate them for Lord Zeref."

Mard paused, and then dug within his cloak. "Speaking of which, several of our comrades met a particularly troublesome human. A Celestial Mage." Withdrawing several books from the cloak's confines, he placed them within Sayla's arms. "The woman rewrote the rules, and sacrificed a large portion of her life force to seal them into their book forms." It was quite a clever tactic, he had to admit. Sealed thus they would not be able to respawn within Hell's Core. Although... was it really such a good idea when one did not know of the regeneration machine's existence? Half-formed suspicions filled his thoughts, brought on by caution developed through a long life and an ingrained sense of paranoia.  _Could_  that woman have known? If so... how? The whole thing had bothered him from the start, and with the passage time little had changed. Events such as this, where the proceedings were unclear, Mard did not care for.

Surprised, Sayla murmured, "I was not aware that Celestial Mage's were capable of such a feat."

"It has happened twice before. Three hundred years ago, and before that, just prior my own creation. Although..." Annoyance finally began to penetrate his voice. "In both of those cases it involved the same Celestial Spirit - one which has since been exiled and would have perished by now." He continued to pull out more tomes he had collected and place them into Sayla's care.

Sayla nodded in understanding. Just how many of these was he hiding in his cloak? Were there even pockets in the thing? "The same one that attempted to kill you, I presume?" She flinched when he leveled a hard stare at her. "Please forgive my impertinence!"

He decided to allow it to slide this time, though his eyes remained steely. "Yes, the same Spirit." At last, he proffered to her a final tome.

Sayla noted that Mard had retained one for himself, and she peered over her stack at its blood red cover curiously. "E.N.D.?"

"Lord Zeref succeeded in the creation of his greatest demon," Mard explained. "His name is E.N.D. and he is to become our Guild Master."

Bowing once more, and carefully balancing her burden of books, Sayla entreated, "Please - it would be my great honour to deliver him to Lamy, so that he may assume his true form."

Mard shook his head. "That is not possible at the moment. It is also the reason behind why I have been absent for so long. That Celestial Mage, along with a dragon, partially sealed our Master into his book form. However, a large portion of him remains unsealed. It might be possible to awaken him, but the chances of success are slim without both parts present. I arrived after this incident, and took possession of the tome from Lord Zeref."

"Lord Zeref was there?"

"Indeed. Though he did not share the particulars beyond what I've already given you." Another oddity, Mard decided. His creator should have been able to stop the whole incident from occurring, and yet had not. Mard could only assume there had been a reason for it - or extenuating circumstances beyond what he was aware of. It wasn't the Underworld King's position to question his creator, or Zeref's motives thereof. "The reason I could not return immediately, was due to the unsealed form of our new master taking the books of our comrades and scattering them across the country in a fit of pique."

The Priestess of the Moon was not entirely certain how to respond to that.

"A traitor to our kind fled the conflict, taking a number of these with her as well. She has been... dealt with." Though not by him.

"I see," Sayla acknowledged. "Please excuse me - I shall bring our comrades to Lamy for their revival."

Dismissing her, Mard watched as Sayla departed for Hell's Core. With E.N.D. in his grasp, he reclined upon his throne and contemplated the end of his journey.

Tracking the traitor's signature had been simplistic. Though of decent strength, the entity had not possessed nearly the level of power that the Underworld King did. He had eventually found himself in a remote human village, whereupon he had discovered that the demon had met its demise in the backwater town, Not at his hands, or even a great and powerful mage, but at those of a small human child. She had absorbed the soul of the demon, and was not consumed in return. Her natural abilities boasted an affinity or likeness to Sayla and Franmalth's, Mard had determined.

It had then occurred to him that if he taught the human girl - Mirajane Strauss - to control it, in time she might become something akin to his own kind. A powerful one, at that.

Which made him wonder... just how many of these souls could she successfully absorb and control? One? Five? Twenty? Hundreds, like Franmalth? In the end, could the person most capable of ending Zeref be an amalgamate of all of Zeref's demons?

Perhaps it was worth finding out...

He very much looked forward to the day they would meet again.

* * *

_**The Present** _

"I'm back, everyone!" Mirajane announced, entering the windmill-turned-guild-hall.

"Mira!" Lisanna cheered, running towards her older sister. "Welcome back!"

Giving her sibling a one-armed hug, Mirajane clutched Jason's gift for Fairy Tail in her other hand. "Good to be home, Lisanna."

"So how did your visit with Jason go?" the younger white-haired girl asked, stepping out of her sister's embrace.

"Jason lent us a ton of the back issues we needed!" Mirajane exclaimed happily. "He also gave us a special issue of Sorcerer's to keep. Think you can help me gather the others to read it? He said it was important that everyone see it."

Lisanna furrowed her brow slightly in contemplation, placing a fingertip on her lips. "I don't think anyone's seen Laxus lately. But maybe Master Makarov knows? You should ask him. I can go get the others now, if you want? Oh but," she added, "some people might be out on jobs."

Mirajane laughed lightly. "It's fine, Lisanna! Once everyone is together, we can read the special issue. In the meantime, why don't we get caught up on the seven years we've missed with the others?"

Smiling, Lisanna nodded. "Yeah, sure!"

"Reading is manly!" Elfman declared, going up to his sisters and squeezing them tightly with his giant arms.

"Why yes, it is!" Mirajane agreed.

Once Elfman had set them down again, Lisanna suggested, "Hey, didn't you do an interview that came out just before we all left for Tenrou Island? I never got the chance to read the article! Let's start with that one! I bet it's awesome!"

"My sister is the manliest!"

With a giggle, Mirajane said, "Why not? Hold on for a minute; I'll dig it out..."


	3. Chapter 3

In the dark, the family of three cowered. Their backs pressed to the cracked wall of the stone cabin in which they’d been living, next to a long dead potted plant.  Outside the shadowy house which they called home, people shouted. The orange glow of flames from burning torches flickered against the grimy window panes, sending black forms, menacing, dancing along the wooden floorboards.

"Monster!" came the screams from outside. "Monster! Demon! Chase it out of the village before it comes after us!"

A quiet sob escaped the smallest of the huddled forms, swiftly muffled by a pale hand. "Shh... Lisanna," came a soft croon, heavy with restrained tears itself. "Shh...”

“I saw them go in there!”

“Smoke them out!”

Lisanna whimpered at the rallying cries that erupted after that particular shout.  “M-mira,” she stuttered. “I’m… I’m scared…”

“It’ll be fine,” Mirajane consoled her sibling, though she felt none of the comfort she tried to impart to her terrified sister.  “Stay there for a moment.”  Holding herself low to the floor, she shuffled towards a rug in the center of the old house.  Moving it aside, she unveiled a dusty trapdoor, and she beckoned to the other two.  “Elfman, Lisanna, over here,” she instructed her siblings softly, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible so her younger siblings wouldn’t panic too much to listen.  She pulled on the trapdoor with her good arm, holding her deformed one close to her chest.

Her siblings mercifully obeyed, crawling across the dirty floorboards after their sister.  Elfman descended first into the root cellar, then he helped Lisanna down the ladder.  Mirajane held the trapdoor open for them, and finally followed them down just as the first baleful flames began to lick at the cabin’s door and smoke began to pour into their makeshift home.

The cellar was dark and musty from long disuse, but Mirajane had explored this place long before, when they’d first taken up residence there.  With her good hand held out in front of her, Mirajane felt around the old crates and barrels and tried not to shudder at the feel of cobwebs against her skin.  She smothered a cry of pain as her shin collided with a low crate and pressed on with her search, spurred on by the acrid smell of smoke beginning to filter down into the cellar.  Her fingers soon brushed the mark she had made on the lid of one particular barrel, and she smiled in relief at its discovery.  “Elfman, Lisanna.  I need you come here.  Follow the sound of my voice.”  Shuffling in the dark and restrained sniffs soon followed her command.

With a grunt of effort, Mirajane soon had the barrel pushed aside.  “This way, you two.”  She felt around for the door that had been hidden behind the barrel.  She tested the old metal handle, and it obediently swung open without quite as much noise as she feared it might.  Then she turned slightly, releasing the handle and holding her human hand out to her brother and sister.  “Take my hand, and each other’s hand, so we don’t get lost.”

Small digits fumbled in the dark, but soon grasped Mirajane’s hand.  They were slick with sweat.  “Got each other?”

“Yeah,” they both replied.

“Good.  Watch your step and follow me.  Elfman, since you’re at the back, close the door behind us.”

“Okay.”

Soon they were on their way, Mirajane feeling ahead of her with her monstrous arm and her siblings connected like a chain to her.  The tunnel would eventually lead them to door hidden a safe distance away from the cabin – an old smuggling route, no doubt.  Today, it would smuggle them to safety.  Eventually the villagers would pursue, but by then Mirajane hoped to have her and her siblings far enough away that they would give up.

Mirajane didn’t know what tomorrow would hold, but she was determined that all three of them would live to see it.

* * *

 

Encouraging her siblings to read the article on her interview before Tenrou had entertaining side effects, Mirajane decided.  For one, they were both staring slack-jawed at her, rendered completely incapable of speech in their abject shock.  She giggled at their expressions.  “Is it really that surprising?” she asked of them.  “Is it really so surprising to you two that I’ve had a crush on someone, before?”

As one, their mouths snapped shut, and red crept across their cheeks and the bridge of their noses.

 _‘Cute,’_ Mirajane thought.  Her siblings were positively adorable, no matter how much they grew.  In all honesty, it had probably never crossed their minds that the Mirajane that had protected them all their lives hadn’t been much older than them.  A child who’d lost her parents, too.  She had always been too busy looking after them to feel like much of a child, though, so maybe it wasn’t all that surprising that they were so shocked.

“It’s just… you never said anything before,” Lisanna offered tentatively, her embarrassment plain.  “I mean… I’d always wondered how you were able to retract the demon parts, but…”

“We didn’t think you’d want to answer if we’d asked,” Elfman finished when Lisanna trailed off.  His younger sister sent him a grateful look.  “So we just… never brought it up.”

“I see.”  Mirajane’s eyes were soft as she gazed at her siblings.  “I’m happy that you were thinking of me.”

“You’d have thought we’d notice you sneaking off for lessons, though,” Lisanna commented, a nervous laugh bubbling from her mouth.  “I mean… we clung to you pretty tightly, after all.  When did you even find the time?”

“After we joined Fairy Tail, I didn’t have to look after you two nearly as much as before.”  Mirajane swept her arm out towards the guild at large.  “You had a lot of playmates, and plenty of adults to look after you.  So I was free to train and take jobs to support us until both of you were ready to help me earn money.”

Her siblings accepted the explanation easily, laughing and smiling.  Soon, Mirajane found herself engulfed in their hugs – okay, more Elfman’s than Lisanna’s – and she laughed along with them.  Fairy Tail had been good for the three of them.  It was the home where they had been allowed to grow, a place they could come back to without fear of being chased away.  This peace and their smiles were something Mirajane would have given her life to protect and keep.

It wouldn’t hurt them to not know the full truth.

They didn’t need to know that she’d met Mard Geer far earlier than she’d insinuated.


End file.
